The new boss of the Kiwi gambling company behind casinos in Adelaide and Darwin believes he can lure high rollers away from the bright lights of Macau and into his local casinos, a feat his predecessor failed to achieve. Nigel Morrison, the former Crown Casino executive and now SkyCity Entertainment chief executive, told the Herald yesterday the strategy planned to take on rival casinos, including Crown, by attracting big spenders with lavish enticements.
Sky City Entertainment Group Ltd., New Zealand's largest casino operator, is reviewing expansion plans for its Adelaide casino in South Australia in a bid to limit the cost of the AUD 55 million (USD 51 million) project. The proposal, including a AUD 30 million underground car park, has languished the past 18 months as profit fell at Sky's key Auckland casino and the company fielded takeover offers for the group.
The company that owns Adelaide's casino has taken it off the market. SkyCity had invited offers for the casino but now says it will be retained, in the best interests of shareholders. In its half-year results, total revenue at the Adelaide Casino was down 2 per cent, to AUD 62.5 million. The company says smoking bans introduced late last year had an impact, with revenue for November and December down 8 per cent.
(Bloomberg) -- Sky City Entertainment Group Ltd. headed for a record one-day gain on New Zealand's stock exchange, valuing the nation's largest casino operator at about USD 1.8 billion, after saying it received a takeover offer. The price indicated by the suitor, which Sky City declined to name, would be a "significant premium," the Auckland-based company said before trading began today.
The Adelaide casino could soon be on the auction block, with James Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd likely to be the only bidder after New Zealand gaming company SkyCity Entertainment Group announced it would sell businesses that were not keeping up. Gaming industry players Tabcorp and Tattersall's are believed to be unlikely to bid for the Adelaide casino.
